Alui Altium Amor
by LiberationFyre
Summary: What if Commodus didn't die, and if a girl who admired him came and saved him? Sounds stupid, but it's a great story! Please review!


ALUI ALTIUM AMOR By Mallory H (LiberationPhoenix)

CHAPTER ONE

The sun stung his eyes. He could feel the warm blood rushing out from the wound on the side of his neck. The sand clung to his body, gathering on his wounds and stinging like the sunlight which pelted him. His nose was bleeding slightly, and he waited for what was to come.

Commodus was dying.

It was an unjust death: Maximus mocked him with his great fighting skills. Now, out of the corner of his blurred eyes, Commodus watched as a crowd gathered around the fallen Maximus. He groaned quietly, unaudibly. But no one heard him.

Where was Lucilla? Where was Lucius? Suddenly, he heard his sister's voice. He tried to move. But his limbs had already failed him. Eyes filled with sorrow, he began to feel lightheaded and dizzy.

Then, he passed out.

Xanath ran through the hallways on the upper floors of the Colosseum. Her feet, clothed in sandals, made a slapping noise upon the marble floors of the upper chambers. Her eyes, every so often, strayed out the windows and trained onto the Colosseum's stage. He was still there.

She didn't know why he was still lying there, his once proud and noble body left to burn upon the hot and bloodstained sands. Though she was still far away, Xanath could see the small yet visable puddle of blood which began to form around his head. It brought a quiet tear to her eye, to see her old friend dying in such a way.

Commodus had been a poor emperor, but he was not ready for such a high position. At the age of 19, he had still had things to learn. But now, at the tender age of 25, he was laying upon the sands of the place that he loved so much, bleeding, and dying. Xanath could now see his fine, handsome face; the closed green eyes, gentle curls of black hair which framed his features, and the still youthful appearance that she'd always admired.

Xanath opened the heavy wooden door, running full tilt onto the hot sands. Everyone had gone now. They had taken Maximus into the town to prepair only the mightiest of funerals for the one who had 'killed' the Emperor. But Xanath, a healer hunder the apprenticeship of Rome's finest, knew that he wasn't dead. He couldn't be.

She rushed to the fallen Emperor's side, kneeling down beside him. She listened carefully. He was still breathing, but each breath was shallow and did not come easily. She unfastened the white breastplate to enable Commodus to have room to breathe, and the damp tunic undernethe would cool down his fevered body. Xanath worked with skilled hands, tying a kerchief around his neck after placing a crude yet functional bandage upon the deep stab wound. She looked around, making sure no one was watching.

If someone were to see her, she would be killed. She must hurry.

Whistling one long, steady note, Xanath waited patiently beside Commodus. His breathing had steadied from the harsh gasps and was now rythmic, yet still laboured. From one of the darker corners of the Colosseum strode a magnificent white mare of fine desert breeding. Xanath let out a weak smile, seeing her mare come to her.

"How smart you are, Kasan. The gods have blessed you with grace and intellegence." She said, patting the mare on the nose as she halted beside her.

Kasan whickered quietly, shaking her elegant head. Xanath smiled again, standing up and walking to the mare's left side. She tightened the girth upon the fine saddle. Next, Xanath returned to Commodus, kneeling down beside him. She stroked his hair carefully, as if to comfort him. He made a groan of pain deep within his throat, like he was coming back into conciousness. Then, with a gasp, he opened his eyes.

"Commodus..." She said, withdrawing her hand. She smiled. She had not expected him to awaken so fast.

His eyes were still slightly blurry, the green emeralds of his gaze trying to focus. But within time, the white blur above him now clearly became a woman. He recoiled slightly, but was fought with by his own pain.

"You musn't move, m'lord," Xanath said. "I am here to save you."

Commodus groaned quietly again one hand twitching slightly. Xanath reached up to the saddle and removed a canteen, placing the opening at his mouth and offering him a quick drink. Once the Emperor was finished, she spoke to him again.

"We must go. Come now, I will lift you 'pon my horse."

With great strength and dexterity, Xanath picked Commodus up from the sand and placed him upon Kasan's broad back. The mare was short, barely under 15 hands, so it was easy for Xanath to accomplish this task. Patting the mare upon the neck, and moving Commodus's limp body into a place where he would be comfortable laying there, she threw a blanket overtop to disguise him as a piece of luggage. Then, mounting Kasan's fine saddle, she nudged the mare into a smooth walk, and out of the Colosseum.

CHAPTER TWO 


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